प्राचीन भारत में शिक्षा (डॉ. ए.एस. अल्तेकर - गुरुकुल एवं बौद्ध विहार शिक्षण इतिहास)

IV] EDUCATIONAL ORGANISATION AND FINANCE 71 small centres for higher education, which co-operated with the private teacher in rendering the valuable service of keeping the lamp of learning burning in a dark age, when society was often over-whelmed by anarchy, inter- necine war and foreign rule. Private teachers: Private teachers have all along been the sheet anchor of the educational system. In the prehistoric period, the followers of different Vedas had no doubt formed their own literary organisations like the Parishads, the Śākhās, and the Charaṇas, but curiously enough these do not seem to have ever made any concerted effort to form educational institutions, which would hand down to the next generation the literature of which they were the custodians. This need not cause any surprise. The sacred texts required each Brahmana to devote himself to the cause of teaching in his individual capacity, and the injunction was very largely followed. Each learned Brahmana was thus an educational institution by himself. The Parishads or councils of famous scholars of the different centres or tribes therefore did not feel it necessary to organise public educational institutions of the modern type, worked with the co-operation and assistance of a number of teachers. Famous capitals and holy places like Taxila and Benares were centres of a number of famous scholars, but they also imparted education in their individual capacity, and did not as a rule combine to form any colleges. If the number of pupils under any teacher happened to be large, he would either engage an assistant teacher, or assign part of the work to brilliant advanced students.¹ Neither step however would change the individual character of the See Anabhirati Jātaka (II p. 185) and Mahadhammapala Jātaka (IV. p. 447) for the appointments of pittiachārayas and Jethantenva- sikas respectively.